1. general theory of ecology

2. DEFINITIONS OF ECOLOGY

3. Odum (1971) study of the structure and function of nature

4. McNaughton and Wolf (1973) scientific study of the relationships between organisms and their environments

5. Ricklefs (1979) study of the natural environment, particularly the interrelationships between organisms and their surroundings

6. Colinvaux (1986) study of animals and plants in relation to their habits and habitats

7. Ehrlich and Roughgarden (1987) study of the relationship between organisms and their physical and biological environments

8. Stiling (1992) study of interactions between organisms and between organisms and their environments

9. Dodson et al. (1998) study of the relationships, distribution, and abundance of organisms, or groups of organisms, in an environment

10. Krebs (2001) scientific study of the interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms

11. Begon et al. (2006) scientific study of the interactions between organisms and their environment

12. Gurevitch et al. (2006) study of the relationships between living organisms and their environments, the interactions of organisms with one another, and the patterns and causes of the abundance and distribution of organisms in nature

13. Samuel M. Scheiner & Michael R. Willig Study of the spatial and temporal patterns of the distribution and abundance of organisms, including causes and consequences

14. The domain of ecology is the spatial and temporal patterns of the distribution and abundance of organisms, including causes and consequences.

15. The fundamental principles of ecology 1.Organisms are distributed in space and time in a heterogeneousmanner. 2.Organisms interact with their abiotic and biotic environments. 3.The distributions of organisms and their interactions depend on Contingencies 4.Environmental conditions are heterogeneous in space and time. 5.Resources are finite and heterogeneous in space and time 6.All organisms are mortal. 7.The ecological properties of species are the result of evolution.

16. References Lawton JH (1999) Are there general laws in ecology? Oikos 84:177–192 Turchin P (2001) Does population ecology have general laws? Oikos 94:17–26 Simberloff D (2004) Community ecology: is it time to move on? Am Nat 163:787–799 Begon M, Townsend CR, Harper JL (2006) Ecology, 4th edn. Blackwell, Oxford